Pietro Inzerillo

Pietro Inzerillo, married with five children, coming from Marineo in Palermo, Sicily, arrived in New York in 1890. He was a member of the Morello gang and the owner of a pastry shop on 226 Elizabeth Street – ‘Dolceria Pasticceria’. The cafe was a known hangout for the gang.

In January, 1903, Giuseppe Guilambardo was arrested there during the counterfeiting investigation known as the ‘Morristown Fives’. Four months later the Secret Service searched Inzerillo’s cafe when Benedetto Madonia, the Barrel Murder victim was found.

On Friday 1st May, 1903, Inzerillo gave his testimony to the coroner’s court investigation into the Barrel Murder, he was then excused then rearrested on a bench warrant from the US District Court. He was indicted along with Ignazio Lupo on a counterfeiting charge. The charge dated back to 18th September 1902 when Lupo had mailed a letter to Salvatore Matise aka Andrea Polora in Canada. The letter was found to contain a single five dollar counterfeit note. Inzerillo and Lupo were finally bailed from the counterfeting charge on June 25th, 1903. They would later forfeit this bail, but the charges were eventually dropped.

Sometime after the barrel trial Inzerillo travelled back to Italy. Unsuccessful efforts were made to bar him from re-entering the country when he returned.

Inzerillo was attacked and hospitalised on December 27th, 1908. He was shot, along with employee Tony Kelly, whilst standing outside his cafe. Camillo Conigharo, a former employee of the cafe was arrested. The papers claimed Conigharo had been sacked from the store after the Christmas trade slacked off. Inzerillo was shot in face and abdomen, he was rushed to hospital where he claimed to know nothing about his attacker.

After the murder of Petrosino, Inzerillo was arrested along with fifteen other suspects across New York, he was held on $5000 bail.

Inzerillo was seen with Morello and Lupo in 1910, when the Secret Service were tracking the Morello gang in connection with counterfeiting.